“A fascinating, heartrending page-turner that, like the real-life forgers who inspired the novel, should never be forgotten.” –Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday Inspired by an astonishing true story from World War II, a young woman with a talent for forgery helps hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis in this “sweeping and magnificent” (Fiona Davis, … “sweeping and magnificent” (Fiona Davis, bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue) historical novel from the #1 international bestselling author of The Winemaker’s Wife.
Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving books when her eyes lock on a photograph in the New York Times. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in more than sixty years–a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names.
The accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis across Europe during World War II–an experience Eva remembers well–and the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago. The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but researchers don’t know where it came from–or what the code means. Only Eva holds the answer, but does she have the strength to revisit old memories?
As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris and find refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, where she began forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.
An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Alice Network, The Book of Lost Names is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil.
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This is an entertaining, well-written, outstanding, historical fiction novel set during the Holocaust in France. It is informative, heart-wrenching, heart breaking, and heart warming. It is a captivating page turner and held my interest from the beginning until the end. The female protagonist is likeable, engaging, and courageous. I am looking forward to reading Ms. Harmel’s other novels with great anticipation.
I had sworn off reading WW2 novels but a good friend recommended this one to me and I’m so glad I read it. It’s not often that I have a tear in my eye when reading but this one really pulls on the heartstrings! Eva is a young Jewish girl who becomes a forger, making papers for Jewish children so they can flee occupied France. With a love story, intrigue, loss and lots of drama, The Book of Lost Names is a must for histfic fans like me!
This is my first Kristin Harmel book and it will not be my last!
There are quite a few books about World War II that are popular reads in the last few years. This is another supremely written book, extremely well researched and very informative. This is one of those books that I was engrossed in from the beginning, and will not leave my memory for a long time, if ever.
Also, I will add that I loved the ending!
The Book of Lost Names is an engaging WWII fiction novel set in the south of France. Eva, a young Jewish woman, uses her artistic skills to forge documents for displaced Jewish children. Despite great risk and her own heartbreaks, Eva is determined to save others. I highly recommend this novel for fans of historical fiction.
SENSATIONAL!
This novel is SENSATIONAL! Kristin Harmel uses her exquisite gifts of writing to tell the story of a few brave ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things in the midst of atrocities of WWII. After the War, the survivors made the best lives they could knowing they would always have to live with the decisions they made, the families they lost, the countries they left and the significant others they sacrificed. One such survivor is Eva Traube Abrams.
Eva works as a semi-retired librarian in Florida. She is at work, shelving books, when she she happens to notice a photo in a magazine. It is a surreal moment as she recognizes the the book in the photo to be THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES — a book she has not seen in sixty-five years! Eva quickly peruses the article and it details the Nazis looting libraries all across Europe during WWII. One of the main points of the article was about a Secret Code contained in the book but researchers had no clue how to crack the code.
Eva, did something quite out of the ordinary for someone who lived a normal responsible life. She was so compelled to see The Book of Lost Names for herself, she made arrangements and left as soon as possible barely giving her son notice where she was going and certainly not why. The WHY is the big story. Eva had been forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. She became instrumental in helping the Jewish children escape because she was a skilled document forger. As Eva started working with Remy, they decided they had to devise a code so families could find the children. They developed an intricate code hidden in an 18th Century Religious text and hidden in plain sight. She and Remy escaped many close calls but Remy felt he needed to do more for the children. Times became too tumultuous and they had to stop because betrayals were rampant.
Eva and Remy were separated and she never knew if he survived the war. They always promised each other they would meet at a certain place after the War. After Eva summons the strength to revisit old memories and work through the code to help reunite families, she is stunned to recognize an old friend waiting on her.
In 1942, Eva Traube was a happy graduate student working with her favorite things in the world – books. However, her quiet life in Paris is quickly turned on its head when her father is arrested along with thousands of other Jewish people living in France. This sudden turn of events forces Eva and her mother to flee to the French countryside seeking shelter from the expanding Nazi forces. In the quaint village of Aurignon, Eva finds herself becoming involved in an underground resistance movement forging identities for Jewish children escaping to Switzerland. Eva risks her own safety for the lives of children and to protect their heritage writes their true names in code in a large volume in the small church of Aurignon.
Eva becomes increasingly important to the resistance movement, but things become tricky as she forms relationships with the other members. The ties to her family and to her cause pull her in opposing directions, and she must make life changing decisions. The records she and her partner Remy keep in the Book of Lost Names are vital as the resistance cell begins to disappear. Years later, Eva Traube Abrams is called back to her past when she sees an article about the looting of libraries by the Nazis with the very same volume pictured in it. Eva faces another life-altering choice to continue in her new life or revisit her past with her most painful and most joyful moments.
Kristen Harmel is a New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Lost Names, The Winemaker’s Wife, and many more novels. This story has tension and mystery while also touching on themes of romance, heritage, and bravery. It is a wonderful work of historical fiction that will engage you with the characters’ resilience.
Loved this book. Didn’t want to put it down.
A different view of what was happening in France during WW2. This story told of the role forgers played to save the lives of innocent people. Who could be trusted was a question raised throughout this story.
What a beautifully written story! This is my first time reading Kristin Harmel but it definitely won’t be my last! This story has it all–wonderful, well-developed characters; a scenery that I believed I was witnessing; and a storyline that was beyond captivating. And it has a totally unexpected happily-ever-after that I never saw coming!
I highly recommend this story for those who love historical fiction!
I started this book last night and finished it today! What an exciting read! I actually didn’t want it to end. I haven’t read anything else by this author but I will definitely watch for more books by her. She has a unique way of writing. I felt like I was in the story. So much about history is in this book, When I was reading it I was reminded of Kristin Hannah’s book, so I recommend it for fans of Nightingale. A true feel-good book! I love love loved the ending! You are never to old to find your one true love.
This engrossing, heartfelt WWII story is unlike any I’ve read before. The characters are unforgettable and the drama will keep you turning pages, longing to know the story’s powerful outcome.
There are some books we read for fun, for adventure and to learn about the past, however this book made me stop to think, “what happened to all those children that escaped the terror of the Germans during the war?” They changed their identity to flee and were they forgotten??
I couldn’t put this book down and wanted to learn more about the children and those that helped them flee to another country with new identification, new names and hopefully a better life than if they stayed.
Eighty-six year old Eva Traube Abrams sets out to Berlin in 2005 to recover what she called The Book of Lost Names. Her family, most of whom were killed by the Nazis, is all gone now, but the book has recently been discovered. She has not told anyone of her efforts in the war, but we learn of them as she travels to her old home.
A passable artist, she forges documents for herself and her mother after her father is taken by the Nazis. They hide in a small French village, where Eva is tapped to create false documents for the homeless Jewish children escaping to Switzerland.
She deals with her angry mother who somehow blames her for not rescuing her father as she tries to save the names of all she helps rescue so they may find their ways home. She struggles with who can be trusted, who can be loved.
This is historical fiction at its best. Well researched and achingly beautiful. More, please!
Ms. Harmel graciously reminds us of how precious life is and should not be forgotten. It’s a heart wrenching truth of the children affected during WWII. The only aspect of this novel I didn’t care for is the mild profanity.
Recommend to readers who enjoy powerful, time-slip novels.
I borrowed a copy from my local library. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
Reminded me of The Nightingale
A one day read. I couldn’t put it down!
This is a book I will read again. Great (and tragic) historical fiction read!
Beautiful novel about a woman and what she went through during World War II! Eva witnessed the Nazis take her father away because he was Jewish. She escapes with her mother from Paris to a small quiet town before they are captured, just as she promised her father they would. She creates forged documents for them to use during their travel that list them as different people. When they arrive in the little town, they find a boarding house to stay in. Eva soon finds herself involved in a network of people who are all working to help people escape to Switzerland, especially children. Eva is torn between obligations to her family and the people she is helping. The Book of Lost Names was a book that contained the children’s names who were saved within its pages in a secret code. But the Nazis stole the book during their raids during the war. About sixty years later, Eva sees that someone is trying to find the real owners of old books and they have The Book of Lost Names. The story is full of so much as Eva forms close ties with the other people she works with in the network. Even as they are saving people, they will lose some of those they are close to.
Kristin Harmel is an incredibly talented writer and this book is absolutely brilliant. It’s an incredible historical novel based on a real-life WWII story about a young woman who helps hundreds of jewish children escape the Nazis. Seriously, it’s a stunningly good book, I highly recommend it.